Pambassadors tell world of pandas' plight
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E-mail China Daily, November 19, 2012
After a 10-minute speech on what they would do as Pambassadors, the contestants had a three-minute quiz in which they answered questions such as: "What are the habits of the giant panda in summer?" and "Who was the first person to introduce the giant panda to the West?"
"It took Pouille only 90 seconds to finish all 10 questions in the quiz," said Zhang Zhihe, chief of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Next, contestants were presented with four kinds of bamboo. They had to identify which two of the varieties were edible, and gather 40 kg of bamboo without a scale. The whole process could last no more than three minutes.
"Although Chen identified the bamboo quickly, the amount of bamboo she placed on the platform scale was only 5 kg," said Wu Kongju, a competition judge from the research base.
But Chen distinguished herself by using an apple tied to a bamboo pole to lure a panda to stand up and walk, which is an exercise used to make the hind legs of a male panda strong.
"It would be good for a male panda in natural reproduction," said Fei Lisong, deputy chief of the research base.
In this part of the competition, Chen got a score of eight out of 10.
All of the three Pambassadors are die-hard panda fans.
Pouille, 31, works for an environmental protection agency in France and has managed a French website about the giant panda since 2002.
The first animal toy for Katz, 24, a hockey coach, in her childhood was a panda. "And I have had pandas on the brain ever since," she said.
She said the first thing she would do as a Pambassador was to appeal for people from different parts of the world to protect the giant panda, its habitats and other animal species.
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